things to do asheville

Asheville, NC

Asheville has repeatedly been ranked Beer City USA and is a cute little beer-centric town in the middle of the mountains.

AVL Tips: 

  • Wear layers! The weather here fluctuates quite a bit with the elevation so be prepared to be hot one minute and chilly the next.

  • The downtown area can get quickly overwhelmed with tourists and bachelor/bachelorette parties. Be sure to get out of ‘South Slope’ and see more of the city, you won’t regret it.

  • Hiking isn’t as close as you would initially expect, you’ll need to drive a bit to hit the trails even though the city is nestled in the mountains

  • Asheville is unique in that there are ~30 breweries, but there are multiple outposts of some breweries that make that number as high as it is. Burial, Hi-Wire, Wedge, Wicked Weed, Green Man, Asheville Pizza & Brewing, Thirsty Monk, One World, and Catawba each have more than one location all within five or so miles, something that is not common in other cities. I would definitely recommend checking out each location individually if you have time because each atmosphere can be very different!

  • Looking for more of a small town vibe? Hendersonville is a cute area just south of Asheville.

Adventures & Ales Top Asheville Recommendations: ​

  • Burial Beer: The mecca of Asheville beer! This is a MUST. Expect it to be busy as a result of how fantastic the beers are, so try to visit on a weekday if you can. They are constantly changing things up but 100% of what they make is fantastic, especially their IPAs. Their original taproom is in South Slope with patio seating and a small food menu.

    • Forestry Camp is their second venture in the city. It is in the Biltmore Village neighborhood a bit south of downtown. They’ve got a food menu, cocktails and wine, guest taps, a rooftop patio, and chill vibes.

    • Eulogy is their music venue next to the South Slope taprooms. On Saturday afternoons it is open as a beer hall. The space has Burial beers, occasional guest beers, cocktails, Visuals wine, and Good Hot Fish inside. On top of Eulogy is Visuals Wine and Cocktail Bar. This rooftop bar is home to Burial’s wine line, cocktails, a handful of their beers, and a small food menu.

  • Cellarest Beer Project: A great brewery in West Asheville. They are particularly focused on Farmhouse Ales and Lagers. Cassia is their onsite food truck with incredibly delicious Asian eats.

  • Dssolvr: A killer brewery with delicious beers. They are located right downtown and you can get food delivered from nearby restaurants as well.

  • The Whale: An awesome craft beer bar with a variety of taps, cans and bottles. They have three locations in the Asheville area: West Asheville, South Slope, and The Outpost in Haw Creek.

    • The Masters Park to Haw Creek Valley Overlook trail is located 3 minutes from their Outpost location. It is a great way to get in a quick workout with a view before your brew. The trail is 2.3 miles long with 551ft of elevation gain and takes about an hour to complete.

  • Stay at The Glamping Collective: This is an amazing property with geodomes and glass cabins located 30 minutes west of Asheville in Clyde. The domes are incredibly luxurious with kitchens, full bathrooms, hot tubs, fire tables, air conditioning & heat, and so much more. The property has three onsite trails as well, so you don’t even have to get in your car to go for a beautiful hike. The Sunset Summit Trail was my favorite—the views are incredible, even not during sunset! Plus they even have Adirondack chairs at the summit to sit and relax.

    • Another great lodging option is Asheville River Cabins: These are cozy stays on the French Broad River right off the Blue Ridge Parkway. The cabins are complete with full kitchens, grills, hot tubs, fire pits, coffee nooks, and everything you could need for your stay. They are located 15 minutes south of Asheville proper. In addition to the cabins they have A-frames and RV spots.

  • Taco Boy is a great spot for tacos, nachos and cocktails next to The Whale in West Asheville and in Biltmore Park.

  • TRVE Brewing: A metal-themed brewery coming out of Denver with solid beers.

  • Terra Nova Beer Co.: A solid brewery with two locations in the Asheville area: South Slope and Swannanoa. At their South Slope location they have Mission Pizza inside serving up ‘za, a nice patio, and a large variety of taps including 4 Czech side pulls.

Dssolvr

  • Summit Coffee: An extremely cute coffee shop located in The Foundation, a complex covered in 14 acres of street art that is super trendy. Get the lavender latte & don’t look back!

  • Zillicoah Beer: Located right on the French Broad River, this is the perfect spot north of town to relax on a beautiful day. It’s super chill, family friendly, and dog friendly outside. They specialize in fantastic Lagers.

  • Sunny Point Café: A delicious spot for brunch every day of the week! This spot is incredibly popular so expect a wait and try to avoid it on Sundays. They are also open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Located in West Asheville.

  • New Origin Brewing: A small brewery with a large variety of beers that are all great. They have a nice patio space and 900 Degreez food truck onsite for pizza.

  • Cursus Keme: The “secret brewery” in Asheville that’s not quite a secret anymore. This spot used to be a tractor trailer repair shop and is now a large bright and airy taproom. The outside seating near the river is lovely as well. They have a limited number of beers on tap that are usually quite unique and delicious. Located a block past New Origin at the end of the road.

  • Biscuit Head: A tasty spot for—you guessed it—biscuits! They have sweet or savory options as well as drinks. There are 3 locations in Asheville: downtown, West Asheville, and Biltmore Park.

  • Catawba Falls: Another great spot to hike just 30 minutes from downtown. This is very family friendly and relatively flat to the falls. If you’re feeling adventurous you can climb up the falls via a rope on the right-hand side. The trail is short and sweet but still provides great views!

  • Taco Billy: Delicious tacos! Highly recommend their breakfast tacos but they’ve also got beers if you go for lunch or dinner. You can order online to avoid a line as well.

Summit Coffee Asheville

Top Touristy Spots Actually Worth Visiting in Asheville:​

  • Blue Ridge Parkway: An amazing scenic drive with viewpoints to pull over and admire from. Bring snacks, take your time, and enjoy!

  • Float the river with Zen Tubing! Bring your cooler and speaker and enjoy the relaxing journey along the river.

  • Sierra Nevada Mills River: This is a HUGE outpost of the California-based brewery with a private drive, full kitchen and taproom, and concert space. The outdoor space is great, with a firepit, game space, dog space, kid space, and all nestled in the forest. Do not miss the pretzels with pimento beer cheese! The staff here is also super friendly and great!

    • Located right next to the airport so it’s a perfect spot on your way in or out of town if you’re flying! Driving distance from downtown Asheville is about 20 minutes.

  • Highland Brewing: Asheville’s first brewery! This is a unique spot with shipping containers inside and out, frequent live music, cool artwork, and a meadow onsite. The also have hiking trails on their property and chill vibes all around.

  • North Carolina Arboretum: A lovely outdoor space with gardens, trails, educational programs and events. It is $16 to enter the parking area.

  • New Belgium Brewing: Based in Fort Collins, CO., New Belgium calls Asheville its second home. They are located right on the Catawba River and have a fantastic outdoor space. You can also tour the incredibly massive brewery.

  • LaZoom: Bus comedy tours that share a bit of Asheville history, comedy skits, and a stop at a local brewery. They also offer haunted tours, band tours, and kids tours.

Sierra Nevada

Other Things to do in Asheville:

  • Lookout Mountain & Rattlesnake Mountain: Most of the hiking near Asheville is a solid hour drive from the city, but these trails are just 25 minutes away in Black Mountain, NC. Lookout is crowded and there are a lot of manmade steps, but the views are good from the top. I would highly recommend going over the back end of Lookout and continuing up to Rattlesnake where there is generally no one else on the trail and the views are even better.

    • Montreat Rainbow Road, Toll Road, Lookout Mountain Trail: This trail is 4.3 miles long with 889ft of elevation gain. If you go straight up to the Lookout Rocks you’ll gain all of that elevation in about half of a mile, if you end with the rocks it’s a gradual ascent. This trail is a bit boring at times but the Lookout Rocks are great—most folks just go straight up and back down. Parking is limited so avoid this trail on weekends if possible.

  • Pop up to Weaverville, 10 minutes north of town and visit Leveller Brewing Company and Zebulon Artisan Ales. Leveller has a cute patio space and stellar Farmhouse-focused beers. Zebulon has funkier styles in a tucked away taproom a block away.

  • Trombatore Trail: A solid hike up to a pasture-style view of the surrounding mountains. AllTrails listed it at 4.7 miles but it is actually more like 6 as a heads up.

  • Hillman Beer Co: Lots of outdoor seating and a full food menu. They’ve also got a location in Old Fort, east of Asheville.

  • Mountain Madre: A great Mexican restaurant and Agave bar in downtown AVL. Their food and drinks are delicious and their patio is very cute.

  • Vortex Donuts: A great spot to grab a donut and coffee! If you go close to closing time it’s buy one get one free donuts! Highly recommend the peanut butter chocolate.

  • Hi-Wire South Slope: A small little taproom with fun vibes and good beers.

  • White Labs Kitchen and Tap: A production facility, education hub, and brewery based in San Diego with a second location in Asheville. This taproom has a variety of beers on tap and each style has two beers to choose from using different yeasts which is fun! They’ve also got a full food menu with wood fired pizzas that are delicious. Service is mediocre.

  • Diatribe Brewing: This is a chill spot in West Asheville where the tap list is Lager and old-school styles heavy.

  • One World Brewing: Two taprooms, one in West Asheville and the original is downtown in a basement setting.

  • Green Man Dirty Jack’s: The historic original Green Man location with semi-grunge vibes (hence the name).

  • Asheville Pizza and Brewing: 3 locations in town, each with solid pizza and solid beer. Their South Slope location also has a cute little outdoor patio. Their location on the north side of town has a full movie theater!

  • Wedge Brewing at Wedge Studios: The original Wedge outpost. They have a large outdoor space but a small indoor space. Be sure to ask for peanuts.

Highland Brewing

  • Hi-Wire Big Top: A really chill spot compared to their South Slope location. This is where their production happens so it is pretty industrial. They’ve got a permanent food truck onsite, Foothills Meats. The 10W-40 Stout series is delicious!

    • Hungry & don’t love the food truck options? Standard Pizza is a one minute walk away and has great pizza! The slices are huge!

  • Archetype Brewing: A brewery in West Asheville with average beers. They have a nice rooftop patio and Pizza Mind is located next door for some ‘za.

  • Asheville Retrocade: A game bar with craft beer! They’ve got Dance Dance Revolution, Pac-Man, Skee-Ball, and so much more! If you go after 9pm it is 21+

  • The Brew Pump: A craft beer bar in a gas station! No, really. They’ve got $3 specials and well…gas!

  • All Sevens Brewing: Another brewery in West Asheville, they’ve got a full food menu, a pool table, and basic beers that you can get pitchers of.

  • Rattlesnake Lodge Trail: This is a close to town but pretty boring hike that is 4.3 miles long with 882ft of elevation gain and takes 2 hours to complete.

  • Wicked Weed Funkatorium: Wicked Weed was bought out by Anheuser-Busch so I try to avoid their beers and drink small/craft. The Funkatorium specializes in farmhouse ales and barrel aged sour beers that are small batch.

  • Thirsty Monk: Overhyped Belgian brewery and seltzery where neither the beer nor the seltzer is good.